Doves and Demons
by Nyannygiri
Summary: Ever wondered what happens to your kids after you turn them into doves? Shaya remembers the night that her mother visited the witch. The night that she sacrificed her own children's arms for wings, their voices for feathers - but never their memories. Shaya and her little brother Hachiro returned to Pelican Town in search of the one person they hoped could help them - their father.


The dusk swirls again. As it has forever. For as long as any bird would remember. Wind strikes the fragile tree and it shakes, gripping to the earth as best it can. Curled up safe inside the makeshift nest on the fourth branch, two doves listen. The wind is stronger tonight than it ever had been before - they know that. Still, all they can do is nest. Wait out the wind. Trying to fly would only turn out fatally, and she won't let that happen to him. Not him.

The wind strikes again - stronger this time. A mind piercing crack of lightning fells the feeble maple. Was it storming a moment ago? The nest tumbles, the two doves too afraid to open their eyes. White feathers trembling in futility until that final moment of impact - but the wind will not have its way. Claws become legs. Feathers change to skin. Opposable thumbs. It all feels like a fleeting dream, but they know the time is nigh.

…

 **Shaya's P.O.V.**

"Come on," I whispered in a breathless hush, our feet beating against the ground, "just a little further."

"M-my legs hurt…"

"It's okay, Hachi. It's okay…" I fell to my knees at the edge of the lake, panting hard against the dirt. "Water. We should drink." I splashed the cool water on my face, running my hand over my cheek bones. It still felt strange… To be human. Well, sort of human, anyway. The large white wings on our backs probably begged to differ. The ripples in the water settled and a black haired young woman stared back at me with mature emerald eyes. I fell backwards with a gasp and, peeking back over the edge of the water, slowly realised that it was… "Me?"

I still remembered that night. I remembered how Mother drunkenly grabbed us by the wrists and dragged us into that cave. That hole of nightmares. How the green skinned woman cackled as she took Mother's money… How Mother refused to look us in the eye. I was twelve. Hachiro was only five and every possibility was taken from us. He sobbed as he clung to my sleeve, as the witch put us through unimaginable pain. Our bodies were changing - our bones breaking against each other into new, distorted shapes, and finally she caged us. Mother was long gone by then - she was willing to turn her own children into doves but she was too much of a coward to watch it happen. The witch threw us out into the forest, and from there, we had to learn to fly. To scavenge. To survive. Only from that point did our bodies have wings, yet they felt like they'd been clipped. Like we'd fallen from grace. We couldn't get anywhere near the town, either - some sort of a barrier kept us out. The edge of the forest was as far as we could go. I remembered that night… I made sure of that. I clung to those memories. They were all that kept me human on the inside.

But what I couldn't remember… Her face. My own mother's face was a complete mystery to me. Over the years my memory of my human life had become faded and warped. It seemed utterly hopeless that we'd ever regain our human forms. Perhaps I would have succumbed, forgotten that part of myself altogether, but I had to know why. All that time, all I could ask myself was, why would our own mother do this to us? I had to know. Through the resentment, the bitter sadness, the fear of losing Hachiro - I just had to know why. And I wasn't about to let go of my humanity until I had those answers.

"Sh-Shaya…?" Hachiro's voice snapped me back to reality. I appraised his head of shaggy brown hair and chubby pink cheeks as his hazel eyes stared up at me - he looked to be about twelve. And the woman in my reflection - me - I looked about nineteen. So… It had been seven years since we'd been turned into doves. I placed a reassuring hand on my brother's head. "What is it, Hachi?"

"Sis, there's… There's lights over there. Is it the town? Can we go? I'm cold…"

"Lights?" I looked over the lake. Sure enough, the faint glow of the town was there. We'd finally been able to get close enough to see it. I sighed and shook my head. "Hachi, we're nude. We can't just walk into town. Besides…" I pointed to my wings. "This isn't normal, either."

"...Can't we find some clothes somewhere?"

"Come on," I took his hand, standing back up. "I'm sure we'll come up with something."

Fumbling about in the dark forest, we came across a beat-up looking gypsy wagon. "It looks… Abandoned." Hachiro tilted his head to one side. I looked at him, holding my index finger to my lips, before stealthily climbing through the wagon's window. Luckily for me, no one was inside - maybe it really was abandoned. Creepy tchotchkes lined the dark wooden shelves, and a pile of cloth was sitting in an open wooden crate. Rummaging through it, I pulled out two dull brown cloaks and made a swift exit. I didn't exactly feel great about ransacking someone's wagon, but our re-entry into Pelican Town wasn't up for debate. I wrapped a cloak around Hachiro before putting my own on, and we headed toward the soft light. Before long, the tickly grass beneath our bare feet became hard, cold pavement. Most of the lights in the houses were off - it was the middle of the night, after all. Still, I barely recognised the place… It had been so long. The main source of light came from a small brown building, a red sign on its door reading 'Stardrop Saloon'. I squinted at it through the dusk. "Looks like that's our first stop, Hachi. ...Hachi?" I turned around to see him wandering off across the town square. "Hachiro…! Come back!" I whispered, briskly walking after him. He wasn't listening, though. He was staring at the splintered notice board. "What? What is it?"

"That." He said shortly, his small hand pointing toward the top of the board. "The date."

"The date…? _What?_ " My eyes widened when I saw it. It… "It's only been a year."

Hachiro quietly nodded, delicately taking my hand. Our bodies were seven years older and yet only one year had passed. _I… I see._ The body of a dove ages faster than that of a human… When we assumed dove form, we aged as doves. In just one human year, we aged seven, and when we regained our human bodies, the aging didn't revert. I clenched my free hand into a fist. _Magic is... cruel._ Seven years of my life - almost a decade of our lives - lost. Gone. Hachiro never had a proper childhood. But that only steeled my resolve even more. Squeezing Hachiro's hand affectionately, I led him toward the Saloon. I could pass for an adult, so as long as he was with me, everything should be fine. Or, so I hoped. We had to try. Hesitantly I pushed the Saloon door open to reveal the vibrant warmth inside and, almost instantly, almost as if a sign from Yoba himself, we found what we were looking for. Or rather, who. One of the last pieces of my fragmented memory. A man with brunette hair and jaded brown eyes stood beside the fire, wearing a tatty blue hoodie and nursing a pint of what I assumed was probably alcohol. "Him, Hachi. We're here for him."

"Him?" Hachiro asked quietly, perplexed. "Who is he?"

"He's our father."

 ** _Author's Note:_** ** _Hey, thanks for reading! Shane's character had waaaay too many fanfic possibilities for me not to start writing another one. :) ~Nyannygiri_**


End file.
